Generic attribute database system

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus store multiple items across different categories in a database. A database includes an attribute value table that has item entries for items of different categories. Each item entry has attribute values for attributes of the items. The database also includes an attribute map table that has attribute map entries. The attribute map entries have attribute map values. Additionally, an attribute value is associated with an attribute map entry, such that the attribute values are translated based on the attribute map values of the associated attribute map entry. In one embodiment, the translating of an attribute value includes determining an attribute type associated with the attribute value.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present patent application is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/563,069, filed Apr. 24, 2000 now U.S. Pat. No.6,604,107.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to databases. More specifically, the inventionrelates to a system and method for providing generic attributes acrossmultiple categories in such databases.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With the advent of the computer industry, databases have played animportant role in order to store the vast amounts of informationemployed in such an industry. Different types of databases have beendeveloped depending on the type of information, size, application aswell as other factors.

Currently, one type of database is employed for the storage of differenttypes of categories having specific attributes. One application of sucha database is used in conjunction with an Internet-based auctionfacility of different consumer products and services. For the storage ofe-commerce goods or consumer product and/or service information into adatabase, each product (e.g., automobiles and shoes) will have its owncategory. Typically, in such databases, each category is stored in aseparate data structure (e.g., a table), wherein such data structureswill include the specific attributes for that category. For example, fora shoes category, the attributes could include (1) color, (2) size, and(3) type of material. Accordingly, a data structure is created thatincludes these attributes. Similarly, for an automobile category, theattributes could include (1) make, (2) model, (3) year and (4) color.Therefore, a separate data structure is created for these attributes.

Disadvantageously, this type of database wherein a table is allocatedfor each type of category makes the design, the implementation, thetesting, as well as the management of such a system very difficult.Accordingly, there is a need for an improved database system that isable to store vast amounts of information across a number of differentcategories, while being easier to design, implement, test and manage incomparison to the conventional database systems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One embodiment of the present invention provides a network-basedmarketplace having an information server to present listings to usersand a database component to store listings and attributes that areassociated with the listings. Accordingly, each listing belongs to acategory and has one or more associated attributes. The databasecomponent includes an attribute value table for storing the attributevalues associated with the listings. The attribute value table storesthe attribute values independent of the category to which the listingand its associated attributes belongs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention may be best understood by referring to thefollowing description and accompanying drawings which illustrate suchembodiments. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary network-basedtransaction facility according to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a database according to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a data structure stored in a database according to embodimentsof the present invention.

FIG. 4 is another data structure stored in a database according toembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is another data structure stored in a database according toembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is another data structure stored in a database according toembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an output window presenting information outputted from adatabase according to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an input window to receive information to be inputted into adatabase according to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart for use and operation of a transaction facilityaccording to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic representation of a machine used inconjunction with systems and methods according to embodiments of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A method and system for storing multiple items across differentcategories in a database are described. In the following description,for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. Itwill be evident, however, to one skilled in the art that the presentinvention may be practiced without these specific details.

Transaction Facility

FIG. 1 is block diagram illustrating an exemplary network-basedtransaction facility in the form of an Internet-based auction facility10 that incorporates embodiments of the present invention. While anexemplary embodiment of the present invention is described within thecontext of an auction facility, it will be appreciated by those skilledin the art that the invention will find application in many differenttypes of computer-based, and network-based facilities.

The auction facility 10 includes one or more of a number of types offront-end servers, namely page servers 12 that deliver web pages (e.g.,markup language documents), picture servers 14 that dynamically deliverimages to be displayed within Web pages, listing servers 16, CGI servers18 that provide an intelligent interface to the back-end of facility 10,and search servers 20 that handle search requests to the facility 10.E-mail servers 21 provide, inter alia, automated e-mail communicationsto users of the facility 10.

The back-end servers include a database engine server 22, a search indexserver 24 and a credit card database server 26, each of which maintainsand facilitates access to a respective database.

The Internet-based auction facility 10 may be accessed by a clientprogram 30, such as a browser (e.g., the Internet Explorer distributedby Microsoft Corp. of Redmond, Wash.) that executes on a client machine32 and accesses the facility 10 via a network such as, for example, theInternet 34. Other examples of networks that a client may utilize toaccess the auction facility 10 include a wide area network (WAN), alocal area network (LAN), a wireless network (e.g., a cellular network),or the Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) network.

Database Structure

FIG. 2 is a database diagram illustrating an exemplary database 23,maintained by and accessed via the database engine server 22, which atleast partially implements and supports the auction facility 10. In oneembodiment, the database 23 is implemented as a relational database andincludes a number of tables having entries or records that are linked byindices and keys.

Database 23 includes generic attribute table 202, attribute validitytable 204, attribute value table 206 and attribute map table 208.Generic attribute table 202 is a data structure that includes anddefines all the attributes across all the different items of thedifferent categories included in database 23. For example, in oneembodiment, database 23 is used in conjunction with the tracking ofdifferent e-commerce goods or consumer products (e.g., automobiles,shoes) and/or services. Accordingly, these different categories haveattributes that are different as well as attributes that are the same.For example, the categories of shoes and automobiles both may have acolor attribute. In contrast, the category of automobiles may have ayear attribute, indicating the year of the automobile, while thecategory of shoes may not have this attribute.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic representation of an exemplary embodiment ofgeneric attribute table 202 that is populated with records or entriesfor attributes for different categories of items (e.g., consumerproducts and/or services) used in conjunction with auction facility 10.Generic attribute table 202 includes site identification (ID) column 301that stores the site (e.g., country) in which the item is being soldand/or is located. In one embodiment wherein the site is a non-Englishcountry, the attributes are stored and/or outputted in the nativelanguage (e.g., Japanese). Attribute ID column 303 is a uniqueidentifier within database 23 for that particular attribute. In oneembodiment, the attribute ID for a particular attribute is independentof the language, thereby allowing attributes, which are stored and/oroutputted in different languages, to have the same attribute ID. Forexample, if a color attribute is stored in both English and Japanese,the site ID would be different but the attribute ID would be the same.

Moreover, the attribute ID can be the same across different categorieswithin database 23 for those attributes that are the same. For example,a color attribute can be used in conjunction with both automobiles andshoes. Therefore, even though two separate categories include a “color”attribute, there is a need for only one entry into database 23.Accordingly, database 23 includes attributes that can be shared acrossdifferent categories of products, thereby allowing for fewer numbers oftables to be designed, created and maintained than conventionaldatabases wherein a table in such a database is designed, created andmaintained for each category.

Self-defined, attribute name column 305 is the name of the attribute.Further, attribute type column 307 is the type defined for thatattribute. In one embodiment the attribute types include multiplechoice, Boolean, integer and float. Multiple-choice type is for thoseattributes that have discrete values associated therewith. For example,the attribute type for color is a multiple-choice type, as such a typecan be different colors (e.g., blue, green or red). The “Boolean”attribute type is for those attributes that have one of two conditions.For example, air conditioning is a Boolean type, as the product (e.g.,an automobile or house) either does or does not have air conditioning.Moreover, the integer and float could be incorporated into variouscategories including, for example, the year and the price of the item,respectively. However, embodiments of the invention are not limited tothese attribute types, as other attribute types can be included inattribute type column 307.

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic representation of an exemplary embodiment ofattribute validity table 204 that is populated with records or entriesfor valid values for attributes for different categories of items (e.g.,consumer products and/or services), as defined in generic attributetable 202, used in conjunction with auction facility 10. In oneembodiment, attribute validity table 204 includes the valid values forattributes that have attribute types of multiple choice, integer andfloat. However, attribute validity table 204 is not so limited as anytype of attribute that includes a range or list of valid values can beincluded in attribute validity table 204.

Attribute validity table 204 includes site ID column 402 that, asdescribed above, stores the site (e.g., country) in which the item isbeing sold and/or is located. In one embodiment wherein the site is acountry that is not English, the attributes are stored and/or outputtedin the native language (e.g., Japanese). Additionally as describedabove, attribute ID column 404 stores a unique identifier withindatabase 23 for that particular attribute.

Moreover, valid value ID column 406 stores a unique identificationnumber for a valid value for a particular attribute. Valid value column408 stores the valid values for the attributes defined in genericattribute table 202. Because there can be multiple valid values for aparticular attribute, attribute validity table 204 can include differentvalid value IDs and valid values associated with one attribute. Oneexample would be an attribute having a “multiple choice” attribute type.Assuming that the color attribute is a “multiple choice” type and thatits attribute ID is one, this attribute ID will be the same for threevalid value IDs (e.g., one for red, two for blue and three for green).Accordingly, attribute validity table 204 will have three differententries for these three color attributes, wherein the attribute ID andsite ID for all three entries are the same, while the valid value ID andvalid value are different for the attribute.

Maximum range column 410 and minimum range column 412 store the rangesof valid values for the attributes defined in generic attribute table202 that are defined by a range. One such range would be the year of theproduct. Moreover because attributes are shared across different itemsin different categories, there can be multiple valid ranges for aparticular attribute. Accordingly, attribute validity table 204 caninclude multiple entries having different maximum and minimum ranges fora particular attribute. For example, assuming that for the yearattribute for items the attribute ID is three and that there are threevalid ranges for this attribute (e.g., (1) 1930–1939, (2) 1940–1949 and(3) 1950–1959), the valid value ID will be different for all threedifferent year ranges, while having a different entry into attributevalidity table 204 for each one. Further, for these three entries, thesite ID and the attribute ID remain constant. Accordingly, attributevalidity table 204 includes valid values for attributes that can beshared across different categories of products, thereby allowing forfewer numbers of tables to be designed, created and maintained thanconventional databases. Moreover in one embodiment valid value column408 is mutually exclusive of maximum range column 410 and minimum rangecolumn 412. For example, if an attribute (e.g., color) is a multiplechoice attribute type, this attribute is defined by discrete components(e.g., red, blue or green) and not by a range.

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic representation of an exemplary embodiment ofattribute value table 206 that is populated with records or entries ofattribute values of actual items (i.e., attribute value entries) storedin database 23 used in conjunction with auction facility 10. In oneembodiment, the number of attributes for a particular item is limited to30. However, embodiments of the present invention are not so limited, asan item can be have any number of attributes associated therewith.

Item ID column 502 is a unique identifier (i.e., an identificationnumber) across database 23 for an item stored therein. For example,assuming that 10 different automobiles and 10 different pairs of shoesare stored in database 23, all 10 different automobiles and all 10different pairs of shoes receive a unique identifier. Attributes #1–30columns 504–508 define the values of the attributes, but not theattribute type (e.g., color), for a particular item that has a uniqueidentifier. For example, one entry could include an item ID of221264646, which has three different attributes: (1) attribute #1 is1956, (2) attribute #2 is three and (3) attribute #3 is one.

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic representation of an exemplary embodiment ofattribute map table 208 that is populated with records or entries foreach attribute stored in attribute value table 206 (i.e., attribute mapentries) that is used in conjunction with auction facility 10. Theserecords or entries include mapping or translation values (i.e.,attribute map values or translation components) for the attributes. Inone embodiment, the mapping or translation values include the categoryand attribute types for the attribute value.

Attribute map table 208 includes site ID column 602 that, as describedabove, stores the site (e.g., country) in which the item is being soldand/or is located. Category ID column 604 stores the type of category(e.g., automobile or shoes) that the attribute is within. Attributeposition column 606 stores the position within the category that theattribute is located. For example, assuming that the category includesthree attributes: (1) color, (2) size and (3) type of material, theattribute position for size would be two. Attribute map table 208 alsoincludes attribute ID column 608 and is defined as described above inconjunction with FIGS. 3–4.

Display position column 610 stores the column position within a displayinterface when the attribute is outputted on such an interface. Oneexample of a display interface is shown in FIG. 7. In particular, FIG. 7includes output display interface 700. In one embodiment, output displayinterface 700 is a markup language page interface displayed by abrowser. However, it will be appreciated that the display interfacecould comprise user interfaces presented by any WINDOWS® clientapplication or stand-alone application, and need not comprisemarkup-language documents.

Output display interface 700 is a display interface for an automobilecategory based on a search within database 23 for certain automobiles.Accordingly, columns 706–712 include the make-model, the mileage, theyear and the price, respectively of different automobiles beingdisplayed in output display interface 700. Assuming that for anattribute entry in attribute map table 208 that is being outputted tooutput display interface 700 the display position is three, theassociated attribute (i.e., the year attribute) would be positioned atcolumn 3 of output display interface 700.

Additionally, display length column 612 stores the number of charactersbeing displayed in a display interface when the attribute is outputtedon such an interface. Returning to output display interface 700, thedisplay length for the year attribute would be four (one for each digitin the year).

Moreover, search flag column 614 stores a number, when translated,defines whether this attribute is searchable and assuming that theparticular attribute is searchable, whether the particular attribute wasused for searching in a retrieval process within database 23. When anattribute is considered searchable, any retrieval processes fromdatabase 23 can employ such an attribute. For example, if a user ofdatabase 23 desires to find all of the cars in database 23 that have thecolor attribute of “blue” and the color attribute is searchable, such auser can use this color attribute to search and retrieve allblue-colored colors from database 23.

Use and Operation of Transaction Facility

In conjunction with output display interface 700 of FIG. 7 and inputdisplay interface 800 of FIG. 8 for an automobile category, the use andoperation of the auction facility 10 in accordance with embodiments ofthe present invention will be described with reference to flow chartshown in FIG. 9.

During the bidding process for auction items, a user of the auctionfacility 10 may desire to search for particular auction item for whichto bid. Accordingly, the user is presented with input display interface800 through which the user provides certain search criteria forsearching for and retrieving items from database 23. In one embodiment,input display interface 800 is a markup language page interfacedisplayed by a browser. However, it will be appreciated that the displayinterface could comprise user interfaces presented by any WINDOWS®client application or stand-alone application, and need not comprisemarkup-language documents.

Input display interface 800 for an automobile category provides makefield 802 and model field 804 into which a user may enter the make andmodel of the automobiles. Input display interface 800 also includesminimum year range field 806 and maximum year range field 808 into whicha user may enter the range of years of the automobiles. Moreover, inputdisplay interface 800 includes mileage range field 810 and locationfield 812 into which a user may enter the mileage and location of theautomobiles. Once the users enter the information for all or some ofthese fields and presses search button 813, method 900 commences, atblock 902, wherein search servers 20 receives a request for allautomobiles in database 23 that include the attributes that the userentered in fields 802–812.

Search servers 20 forwards this search request to database engine server22. At block 904, database engine server 22 retrieves an item entry fromthe attribute value table 206 and derives the site ID and the categoryID. In particular, the site ID and the category ID are derived from theitem ID in the item entry through a decoding or translation procedure,known in the art. At decision block 906, database engine server 22checks to see if the site ID and the category ID match the requestedsite ID and category ID from the search request. If the site ID and thecategory ID do not match the requested site ID and category ID from thesearch request, database engine server 22, at decision block 914,determines if this is the last item entry in attribute value table 206,which is further described below.

If, at decision block 906, the site ID and the category ID do match therequested site ID and category ID from the search request, databaseengine server 22, at block 908, database engine server 22 determines theattribute position of the first attribute based on its location in theitem entry. For example, attribute #1 column 504 stores the firstattribute value. Accordingly, the attribute position is one for thisattribute value.

At block 910, database engine server 22 traverses attribute map table208 to find the associated attribute map entry. In particular, databaseengine server 22 matches the derived site ID, category ID and attributeposition to the site IDs, category IDs and attribute positions in theattribute map entries. Once the associated attribute map entry is found,at block 910, database engine server 22 generates a translation for theattribute value. In particular, based on the associated attribute mapentry, the translation of the attribute value includes (1) the attributeID from attribute ID column 608, (2) the display position from displayposition column 610, (3) the display length from display length column612 and (4) the search flag from search flag column 614.

Further, database engine server 22 translates the attribute value bytraversing generic attribute table 202 to find the associated attributeentry. In particular, database engine server 22 matches the site ID andthe attribute ID from the attribute map entry. Once the associatedattribute entry is found, database engine server 22 determines (1) theattribute name from attribute name column 305 and (2) the attribute typefrom attribute type column 307. At decision block 912, database engineserver 22 checks to see if this is the last attribute for this itementry in attribute value table 206. If this is not the last attribute,database engine server 22, returning to block 908, determines theattribute position of the next attribute in the item category based onits location therein. If this is the last attribute, at decision block912, database engine server 22 checks to see if this is the last entry,at block 914. If this is not the last entry, database engine server 22,at block 904, retrieves the next item entry. If this is the last entry,database engine server 22, at block 916, outputs the translation for theattribute values for each item that matched. In one embodiment, thisoutput is formatted into a display interface, as illustrated in FIG. 7.

FIG. 10 shows a diagrammatic representation of machine in the exemplaryform of a computer system 300 within which a set of instructions, forcausing the machine to perform any one of the methodologies discussedabove, may be executed. In alternative embodiments, the machine maycomprise a network router, a network switch, a network bridge, PersonalDigital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a web appliance or anymachine capable of executing a sequence of instructions that specifyactions to be taken by that machine.

The computer system 300 includes a processor 302, a main memory 304 anda static memory 306, which communicate with each other via a bus 308.The computer system 300 may further include a video display unit 310(e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT)). Thecomputer system 300 also includes an alpha-numeric input device 312(e.g. a keyboard), a cursor control device 314 (e.g. a mouse), a diskdrive unit 316, a signal generation device 320 (e.g. a speaker) and anetwork interface device 322

The disk drive unit 316 includes a machine-readable medium 324 on whichis stored a set of instructions (i.e., software) 326 embodying any one,or all, of the methodologies described above. The software 326 is alsoshown to reside, completely or at least partially, within the mainmemory 304 and/or within the processor 302. The software 326 may furtherbe transmitted or received via the network interface device 322. For thepurposes of this specification, the term “machine-readable medium” shallbe taken to include any medium that is capable of storing or encoding asequence of instructions for execution by the machine and that cause themachine to perform any one of the methodologies of the presentinvention. The term “machine-readable medium” shall accordingly be takento included, but not be limited to, solid-state memories, optical andmagnetic disks, and carrier wave signals.

Thus, a method and system for storing multiple items across differentcategories in a database have been described. Although the presentinvention has been described with reference to specific exemplaryembodiments, it will be evident that various modifications and changesmay be made to these embodiments without departing from the broaderspirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the specification anddrawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictivesense.

1. A system for providing a network-based marketplace, the systemincluding: an information server to present listings to users, eachlisting belonging to a category and having one or more associatedattributes; and, a database component having an attribute value table,the attribute value table to store attribute values for a plurality ofthe listings independent of the category to which each listing of theplurality of the listings belongs.
 2. The system of claim 1, includingan attribute map table to store attribute map values, each attribute mapvalue to determine how a particular attribute value is displayed with anassociated listing.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein each attribute mapvalue is to determine a position of the attribute value within an outputdisplay.
 4. The system of claim 2, wherein each attribute map value isto determine a display length of the attribute value within an outputdisplay.
 5. The system of claim 1, including an attribute validity tablehaving attribute validity values, the attribute validity values todetermine validity of the attribute values associated with a particularlisting.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the attribute validity tableincludes maximum range values and minimum range values, the maximumrange values and minimum range values to determine a valid numericalrange of an attribute value associated with a particular listing.
 7. Amachine-readable medium having stored thereon one or more database datastructures for a system providing a network-based marketplace, thedatabase data structures including: one or more database tables to storelistings, each listing belonging to a category and having one or moreassociated attributes; and, an attribute value table to store attributevalues for a plurality of the listings independent of the category towhich each listing of the plurality of the listings belongs.
 8. Themachine-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the one or more databasedata structures further include an attribute map table to storeattribute map values, each attribute map value to determine how aparticular attribute value is displayed with an associated listing. 9.The machine-readable medium of claim 8, wherein each attribute map valueis to determine the position of the attribute value within an outputdisplay.
 10. The machine-readable medium of claim 8, wherein eachattribute map value is to determine the display length of the attributevalue within an output display.
 11. The machine-readable medium of claim7, wherein the one or more database data structures further include anattribute validity table having attribute validity values, the attributevalidity values to determine validity of the attribute values associatedwith a particular listing.
 12. The machine-readable medium of claim 11,wherein the attribute validity table includes maximum range values andminimum range values, the maximum range values and minimum range valuesto determine a valid numerical range of an attribute value associatedwith a particular listing.
 13. A computer-implemented method including:receiving a request for a listing, the listing belonging to a categoryand having one or more associated attributes; retrieving the requestedlisting from a database table; retrieving attribute values for theassociated attributes of the listing from an attribute value table, theattribute value table storing attribute values for a plurality oflistings independent of the category to which each listing of theplurality of listings belongs; and, displaying the listing and theassociated attribute values.
 14. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 13, including: retrieving one or more attribute map values from anattribute map table, the attribute map values to determine how aparticular attribute value is displayed with an associated listing. 15.The computer-implemented method of claim 14, wherein the attribute mapvalues determine a position of the attribute value within an outputdisplay.
 16. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, wherein theattribute map values determine a display length of the attribute valuewithin an output display.
 17. A computer-implemented method including:storing a listing in a database table, the listing belonging to one of aplurality of categories and having one or more associated attributes;and storing an attribute value for the listing in an attribute valuetable, wherein the attribute value table is to store attribute valuesfor a plurality of listings independent of a respective category towhich any single listing belongs.
 18. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 17, including: storing an attribute map value in an attribute maptable, the attribute map value to determine how the attribute value isdisplayed with an associated listing.
 19. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 18, including: storing an attribute validity value in anattribute validity table, the attribute validity value to determinevalidity of the attribute value associated with the listing.
 20. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 18, including: storing maximumrange values and minimum range values in the attribute validity table,the maximum range values and minimum range values to determine a validnumerical range of the attribute value associated with the listing.